rance.

He fenced them remarkably well, though of course, when cornered, he
could always fall back upon the excuse of his mouth being closed by the
official pledge of secrecy.

Needless to say, only one topic was mooted, and I should not have
referred to it had not the man whom Winter had brought from town said
something which, I found afterwards, had some bearing on future events.
This person was a diamond merchant in his business hours, and after the
ladies had left us, he expressed the opinion that it was a good thing
the Motor Pirate confined his attentions to fellow motorists.

"If, for instance," he remarked, "he were to take it into his head to
hold up the Brighton Parcels Mail to-morrow night, he would make one of
the best-known firms in Hatton Garden feel very sick."

"How's that?" asked Mannering, carelessly. He had quite recovered from
the temporary shock which Forrest's unexpected appearance had occasioned
him.

"Well, I heard they are sending off a particularly valuable collection
of stones by registered parcel post to-morrow," he answered.

"Seems a silly thing to do," commented Winter.

"I don't know about that," was the reply. "Their theory is that the
chances of robbery are infinitely less than by any other method of
forwarding. They have followed the practice for years, and hitherto have
never made a loss. You see, no one knows anything about it except the
principal, who takes the packet to the post office. He registers it at
St. Martin's, and the packet is immediately placed amongst a number of
parcels of all sorts, shapes and sizes; and the chance of a casual thief
selecting that particular parcel, even if he had the chance, are at
least a hundred to one, while it is well known that the postal employee
who steals always lets the registered letter severely alone."

The subject was not pursued further, and soon after we joined the
ladies. The party broke up early, and I was not sorry, for I could see
Forrest was tired and I wanted to get his story from him before he
turned in. But when we were back in my snuggery, I found that he
considered it necessary to report himself at St. Albans. I was on the
telephone, so I suggested its use, and he jumped at the idea. After some
little difficulty we managed to get a message through to the
police-station. Then settling down into an easy chair with a great sigh
of content, he reeled out an account of his adventures.

CHAPTER X

DESCRIBING A RIDE